Detroit Tigers draft board: 3 prep favorites & 3 college favorites

Detroit Tigers have to grab Charlee Soto if he's there at no. 37

When the Detroit Tigers make their pick at no. 37 in Competitive Balance Round A, there is no reason why they should not be taking Charlee Soto if he is there. The Kissimmee, Florida product is committed to the University of Florida, but there's no chance he steps foot on that campus to play ball.

The Tigers may not get a chance at him, as he projects to be a late first-rounder, but if he were to slip through and be there when the team picks at no. 37, they need to take him. Yes, he's a prep arm, but there's so much to like with Soto's profile and makeup that make this pick worth it, making him one of my favorites for this draft class.

The likelihood of Soto being there is slim, but it's a no-doubt pick if he does slip through the cracks. The 6-foot-5, 197-pound right-handed pitcher is going to throw 100 someday. He's been up to 99 mph already, but it's a 100+ mph arm easily.

Soto's got a loose arm action with good whip that works smoothly through release. He works with a simple operation on the mound with an efficient move down the mound—more below on that with some video as well.

As you can see from the open-side look at him, he's super balanced and can ride the slope in sync down the mound. It's a super projectable frame and operation on the mound. Not to mention, his fastball consistently works the upper-90s, sitting 95-98 mph.

The fastball command is there, and the pitch gets plenty of whiffs at the prep level. Much different than the backfields, but Soto's stuff projects quite well. He pairs the fastball with upper-80s slider that works 86-89 mph with 10-4 shape with great lateral depth.

He's also got a disgusting changeup in the upper-80s that usually works around 88-89 mph with great depth to it. He chokes the changeup and lets it dip, and the opposing hitters struggle with it. He sequences all three offerings well and gets the job done.

There's just a lot to like with Soto, between the way he moves on the mound and his stuff. He's super athletic and projectable. The Tigers would be committing theft if they got a chance at Soto. He's one of my favorite arms in the draft class, for good reason.

He's made serious strides in defining his pitch mix and it has worked out well for him. The fastball/changeup is his bread and butter, but the slider has taken serious strides in becoming a better part of his arsenal.

Funny enough, I had Soto to project as a bat from my looks at him in 2021. Mostly seeing him swing it at the plate, and the swing was pretty darn solid if you ask me. But Soto's put the bat down and its easily one of the best decisions he could make.